So I just started my weightloss journey, im 5"8 and 260 ish is what im guessing I was 275 when I gave birth 9 months ago. Anyway what iam doing is basically paleo without fruit, hoping to keep my carbs between 50 and 100 by eating plenty of veggies and protein. I was under the impression that you cant get enough protein when on a low carb diet but I recently realized my portion sizes of meat were too large and wondered if I there was a limit to the amount of protein you eat when trying to loose weight. Lo and behold turns out there is, aparently too much protein can impeade weight loss . So basically my question is whats a good target range for protein? I know id like to keep my carbs under 100 as close to 50 as possible. And I think id like to keep my caloriesat 1500 to 1700. Id really appreciate your guys input! Thanks

I am very big on low carbs but I'd personally start closer to 100 grams. But if you are finding you can do 50 great.

Right now FORGET about calories per day. Completely. Concentrate on getting rid of all simple carbs, diet sodas if you drink them, artificial sweetners, processed food out of your diet. If you can cut out bread and pasta even whole wheat has a tremendously high glycemic index.

Eat as much protein and veggies and good fats as you need in the transition period. You need to purge cravings for simple carbs and sugars. After that the calories and weight loss will take care of itself if you also exercise. And you will be so much less hungry.

Thanks for your reply diamond !
Its encouraging because thats pretty much what ive been doing, im just worried my portion sizes are at times too big . Luckily im not really much of a suger eater so carb craving havent been a huge issue for me.

Then you are 90% of the way there. Be careful about artificial sweetners and condiments. The more you eliminate simple carbs, bread, and pasta your appetite will regulate itself.

Do not be afraid of fat. It is very filling and necessary.

You can absolutely eat too much protein on a low carb diet, and many of the people you will see in low carb communities actually do eat too much protein. Basically your body will use as much as it needs to repair and maintain your lean body mass. Any extra will be converted to glucose by the liver. Therefore if you eat too much protein you will actually be converting it to carbs. What I do is use a calculator to determine how much protein/fat/carbs/calories I should be eating. The rule of thumb is to stay under your carb limit, hit your protein target, and then eat until satisfied (or you hit your calorie limit) on fats. You can ascertain your macronutrient requirements at http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

If you're losing on what you're doing, I wouldn't worry about fine tuning yet. Personally I think the hardest part is getting started, getting moving. Once you're in the swing of lower carbs, you can fine tune if you're not losing at a rate that keeps you motivated.

A lot of people find that it's actually a lot easier to go extremely low carb (20-30g) because the ketosis helps reduce appetite dramatically.

And I agree you can indeed overeat protein, and the excess is converted to glucose, so if you're already eating a moderately high carb level like 100g it could be holding you back (but again, if you're losing well deal with this in the future!).

This is the calculator I use :
http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/DietMakeupCalc.php

I'm in my mid-40s and have found I need to keep carbs around 30g (total, not net) and protein around 65g, about 1500 calories to lose at a rate that keeps me motivated. If I eat a little more the scale moves slowly but I get frustrated (like 1-2 pounds a month slowly) and if I eat low carb without paying any attention to the numbers (which is my preference) then I can maintain my weight without much difficulty, but I don't lose.

You're younger (I presume, since you just had a baby) so your body could be much more efficient than mine!